St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-15
BLACKED A COWBOYS BOOTS.
How a Cowboy Called Down a
SprinkIing Cart Driver.


SprinkIing Cart Driver.
AS Judge Egan was crossing Fifth
street at its intersection with Wabasha
the other afternoon, the man on the top
of a common shaped Sprinkling cart
pulled the string and the lower eXtrem-
ity of the dignifed Judge was plentifully
sprnllled with water. The Judge made
some remark in an undertone and pulled
himself out of the deluge as soon as pos
sible. When he reached the opposite
curbstOne he turned round and with a
heightened color in his cheek said:
'D-n his skin. he ought to be hung.
If these men who take contracts for
sprinkling our streets can't hire drivers
that know their business. the city had
better go with dry streets. It's got so
when man sees springling cart COM
ing if he don't wss1t shower bath he'd
better walk around the block"
Judge Egan is not the only citizen of
st. Paul who finds vigorous fault with
the style in which the drivers of water
ing carts handle the tanks. Men, women
and children are daily wet down by
these fellows, who don't seem to have
the correct idea where to drive and
where to pull the string. They go care
leSsly down the streets so near the side
walks that pedestrians are obliged to
climb up into dO0rWayS until the water
spouting machine has passed, to avoid
getting a thorough drenching. Men can
stand this sort of treatment by eXercis-
ing little patience and some excerpts of
profanity, but ladies to whom these
avenues of revenge are Theoretically
scaled are severe sufferers.
1t was only few days ago that
fashionably dressed lady stood on the
corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets
waiting for st. Anthony hill car. She
wore Il beautiful costume of Mauve
silk and had evidently wore it for the first
time that day for she would occasionally
glance herself over from head to foot
with an air of pride. and now and then
feel of the draperies of her hustle to
see how they hung. AS she stood there
a Sprinkling cart came up the hill with
the sprinkler closed. and experimenting
no danger the lady held her place, but
Just as the horses turned on the corner
towards Third street the driver pulled
the string, and before the lady could re-
treat her dress was thickly Sprinkled
from the waist down. She tried to wipe
the spots off with her handkerchief but
the traces could not be erased. and go
ing into the drug store she sank into
chair and INDUCED in good cry, while
the idiotic driver of the cart looked over
his shoulder and grinned as though he
had done something extremely face
tiOus.
There was driver of one of these
carts who ran up against an individual
yesterday that treated him to q genuine
surprise party. A man of the cowboy
pattern, with high-topped boots freshly
blackened, stood on the corner of Sew
enth street and Broadway amusing him
self with sizing up the passing tide of
humanity, when sprinklng cart came
around the corner, and when opposite
the cowboy the driver yanked the cord,
and a second later the shine was all
knocked off the Western mans boots.
He glanced at them and then looked up
to the grinning face of the driver.
Reaching behind him, he pulled a re-
volver from his hip pocket--and. point
ing at the man OH the cart, yelled:
"tiit down here, you money-faced
cayuse?'
The next minute the driver was
Laundering down from his seat with
terrified face and shivering frame.
Come berc!" yelled the cowboy,
keeping the man under the muZZle of
his revolver. ''Git down Oh yer knees
thar" The man fell on his knees.
Beckening to bootback who had come
up in the crowd, he said: "Give that
Teller yer blackin' an brush" The
bootblack followed instructions. Snow
black them boots. yer sucker" said the
cowboy to the driver A minute later
he was hard at work on the despatched
boots, and soon had them shining like
mirrors from top to sasstom.
Now git Oh yer box an don't run